Dungeons & Dragons 2024 (D&D) Monster/NPC: Orcwort
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
MME3 214
The dreadful orcwort is a carnivorous plant usually found in temperate forests, jungles, and heavily-wooded bogs and swamps. The orcwort resembles a massive tree with gnarled and twisted branches. A giant maw full of sharp teeth lies on one side of its trunk, with thick roots that look like spike-covered tendrils framing the tree's base. Hanging from its branches, protected by the dense, bushy foliage that forms its canopy, are 3-foot-long, purple, pear- shaped objects known as wortling pods.
Hibernating Predator. The orcwort is dormant for most of the year. It awakens in the middle of spring and sleeps again by early autumn. When it is dormant, it is almost indistinguishable from a normal tree. When it awakens, it becomes a dangerous predator. Over several weeks, it will start to bear wortling pods. The orcwort can produce up to 60 pods during one period of activity, and once mature, the pods fall to the ground and break open, releasing the wortlings. In combat, the orcwort can defend itself by unleashing roots that entangle and grasp at its enemies. The orcwort then attacks with its tentacles, which it uses to bludgeon and grab prey. Those unfortunate enough to get caught by its tentacles are brought to its venomous maw to be eaten and swallowed.
Hive Mind. The orcwort sends its wortlings to scout the region within 10 miles of the orcwort, like an ant queen sending its ant workers to scavenge for food. The orcwort acts as a central communication hub for all the wortlings, all linked and acting as a single entity. Once a wortling finds suitable prey, such as a humanoid settlement, the orcwort makes all the wortlings converge toward that area. The wortlings, acting like a raiding party, descend on the settlement, incapacitating and capturing as many creatures as possible and carry them back alive to be devoured by the orcwort. The process is repeated until the orcwort has fed enough or it is time for it to hibernate. The orcwort then uproots itself and wanders for days until it finds a suitable spot to hibernate. Once it reaches its dormant state, the wortlings become inanimate and die. It is possible that a single orcwort can wreak havoc on several settlements during a single period of activity.
Monstrous Partnerships. An orcwort is usually a solitary creature. On rare occasions, an orcwort may cohabitate with hags, harpies, kapres, malignos, quicklings, and tikbalangs, who protect it during its dormant state. In return, these creatures take the spoils of those the orcwort has eaten and loot and ransack whatever village or settlement it has decimated.
| MOD | SAVE | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| STR | 23 | +6 | +6 |
| DEX | 8 | -1 | -1 |
| CON | 22 | +6 | +6 |
| MOD | SAVE | ||
| INT | 8 | -1 | -1 |
| WIS | 15 | +2 | +2 |
| CHA | 6 | -2 | -2 |
Traits
False Appearance. While the orcwort remains motionless, it is indistinguishable from a normal tree.
Rooted. The orcwort has advantage on Strength and Dexterity saving throws made against effects that would pull, push, or knock it prone.
Wortling Link. The orcwort can see through and communicate telepathically with any of its wortlings within 10 miles of it
Actions
Multiattack. The orcwort makes three Tendril attacks. It can use Bite or Swallow in place of one Tendril attack.
Tendril. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 15 ft., one creature. Hit: 13 (2d6 + 6) bludgeoning damage plus 7 ( 2d6 ) piercing damage and if the target is Large or smaller creature, it is also grappled (escape DC 18). Until this grapple ends, the target is restrained. The orcwort has six tendrils, each of which can grapple only one target. Each tendril can be attacked (AC 16; 30 hit points; immunity to poison and psychic damage). Destroying a tendril deals no damage to the orcwort, which can use an action to grow a replacement tendril.
Bite. Melee Weapon Attack: +10 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature it is grappling with. Hit: 20 (4d6 + 6) piercing damage, and the target must succeed on a DC 18 Constitution saving throw or be poisoned for 1 minute. Until this poison ends, the creature is incapacitated. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success.
Swallow. The orcwort makes one Bite attack against a target. If the attack hits, the target is also swallowed, and the grapple ends. While swallowed, the target is blinded and restrained, it has total cover against attacks and other effects outside the orcwort, and it takes 17 ( 5d6 ) acid damage at the start of each of the orcwort's turns. An orcwort can have up to four Small, two Medium, or one Large creature swallowed at a time.
If the orcwort takes 20 damage or more on a single turn from the swallowed creature, the orcwort must succeed on a DC 16 Constitution saving throw at the end of that turn or regurgitate the creature, which falls prone in a space within 10 feet of the orcwort. If the orcwort dies, a swallowed creature is no longer restrained by it and can escape from the corpse by using 15 feet of movement, exiting prone.
Bonus Actions
Entangling Vines (Recharge 5-6). The orcwort animates roots and vines in a 20-foot radius centered on the orcwort. These plants turn the ground in that area into difficult terrain. Each creature of the orcwort's choice in that area when the effect begins must succeed on a DC 18 Strength saving throw or be restrained by entangling vines and roots. A creature restrained by the plants can use its action to make a DC 18 Strength (Athletics) check, freeing itself on a successful check. The effect ends after 1 minute or when the orcwort dies or uses Entangling Vines again.
Find your way!
Resources
WHO WE ARE
LEGAL
Get the news
Listen to our Podcast
Our Allies
